Telangana CM invokes NTR to seek support of Telugu parties for Sudershan Reddy

Hyderabad, Aug 19 Telangana Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy on Tuesday appealed to his Andhra Pradesh counterpart N. Chandrababu Naidu and former Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao to support INDIA Alliance candidate B. Sudershan Reddy in the Vice-Presidential election.

Invoking Telugu Desam Party (TDP) founder and former Chief Minister of united Andhra Pradesh N.T. Rama Rao (NTR), he urged TDP President Chandrababu Naidu, Andhra Deputy CM and Jana Sena President Pawan Kalyan and Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) chief K. Chandrasekhar Rao (KCR) to back Sudershan Reddy.

Addressing a news conference, the Chief Minister appealed to the TDP, the BRS, the Jana Sena, the All Indian Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM), and the Left parties to support the candidature of the former Supreme Court judge.

He said since Sudershan Reddy is a Telugu man, a Constitutional expert, and not affiliated to any political party, all the parties from both Telangana and Andhra Pradesh should back him.

Stating that Sudershan Reddy’s candidature enhanced the prestige and respect of the Telugu people, he said all Telugu parties should extend their support to him.

He stated that Sudershan Reddy’s candidature is an honour bestowed upon the Telugu people and appealed to all Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha MPs from both states to collectively support him and show their wisdom by electing a Telugu candidate.

"It is a matter of pride for all Telugus that ‘Telangana Bidda’ Sudershan Reddy, who hails from an agricultural family, has been declared as Vice-Presidential candidate," he said.

Revanth Reddy said that Sudershan Reddy’s candidature has given an opportunity to elect a Telugu to a top Constitutional post. He said that after former Prime Minister P. V. Narasimha Rao, Sudershan Reddy is the second Telugu man to get an opportunity to be elected to a top Constitutional post.

Recalling that NTR extended all-out support to Prime Minister-designate Narasimha Rao in the Nandyal Lok Sabha elections by not fielding a TDP candidate in 1991, he said that NTR displayed his political wisdom by supporting the Congress leader in the parliamentary contest. The CM hoped that the Telugu leaders and parties would also follow NTR’s line and support Sudershan Reddy to safeguard the democratic spirit in the country.

The Chief Minister stressed that it is the responsibility of Telugu people to unite and strive for the victory of the legal luminary Sudharshan Reddy, who was also the Chairman of the Independent Expert Committee constituted by the Telangana government to study the caste census data, in the elections.

CM Revanth Reddy noted that the election for the Vice President post is a fight between the NDA alliance, which made a mockery of democracy by 'vote theft' and the INDIA bloc struggling to protect the Constitution in the true spirit of Mahatma Gandhi.

Revanth Reddy also stated that those who stand for OBC reservation should back Sudershan Reddy, as he favoured enhancing reservation for OBCs in education, employment and local bodies.

Stating that two Bills passed by the Telangana legislature to enhance OBC reservation to 42 per cent are pending with the President, the Chief Minister said the election of Sudershan Reddy can help in securing the President’s approval.

The Congress leader claimed that NDA candidate C P. Radhakrishnan is the candidate of the forces which were opposed to OBC reservation.

He alleged that the NDA was mocking democracy and the Constitution. "On one hand, you have forces which want to change the Constitution, scrap reservations and misuse the Election Commission to commit voter fraud, mocking the election process, while on the other, you have those who are fighting to protect the Constitution," he said.

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